The present invention relates to railroad maintenance devices, and in particular to a device for automatically spotting and inserting tie plugs into railroad ties without the need for a large crew of workers and extensive labor.
Rails are fastened to underlying railroad ties through the use of metal spikes. The spikes are inserted vertically through an opening in the flange of the rail into the depth of the underlying wooden tie. Repair either to the rails or the underlying tie requires the spikes be removed for the track to be lifted, cleaned, replaced or repaired. Removal of the metal spike, of course, leaves a vertical hole in the wooden tie. Reinsertion of a spike is insufficient to firmly affix the repaired or replaced rail to the existing tie. As well, it is both expensive and infeasible to replace the underlying tie on every occasion when track is removed or replaced. Accordingly, when possible, the tie is reused.
In the prior art, the existing hole in a tie was often filled or plugged prior to laying new track and inserting new spikes. Ordinarily, crews of railroad workers, carrying a supply of wooden plugs of the approximate diameter of the opening left by the removed spikes, place the wooden plugs in the holes and pound the same into engagement. This usually requires two pairs of crews, one for each side of a double rail, and is extremely time consuming and inefficient. The procedure is also costly and not an effective use of railroad personnel. Moreover, manual spotting and pounding of the plugs is fraught with problems such as splitting of the plugs, sticking, improper or misaligned insertion, etc.
Prior art efforts to solve the problem have included the use of epoxies or compounds to fill the spike holes. These methods have proved to be more costly, difficult to administer, and have not demonstrated the durability of wooden tie plugs.
The present invention provides a mechanical device for supplying, orienting, positioning and inserting wooden tie plugs into existing spike holes through the use of a single operator, with speed and efficiency.